Petal

Tuesday, September 3, 2013


After an end-of-August celebration at the office, I cleaned up my desk and headed home early–my guy was waiting! The week had been pretty exhausting, and no amount of long-week anticipation could keep me from crawling into pjs and ordering an Indian feast (thank goodness for Grubhub). Arguably the best thing about a long weekend is giving yourself permission to curl up at home and relax–there are plenty of other days to have fun!

John was up early on Saturday morning, and together we were making breakfast before 8am. Herbed scrambled eggs, roasted fingerling potatoes, wheat toast and greens in a Dijon mustard dressing were the perfect way to kick off the day, and not so long after, John was headed off to work–the Bay Bridge closure meant a much longer commute than usual. This also meant that I had the day to myself; I filled it with plenty of pretty inspiration, a thorough house cleaning, a trip to the market for bright bouquets of flowers and bubbly, and even some work! As it grew dark, I took a page from Camille's book and plunked some frozen peach slices into my Saturday night Lillet–talk about a perfect summer sipper! Once John finally got home, we curled into bed with cheese straws and the rest of the frozen peaches for a late-night picnic.

John snuck out early to do laundry on Sunday morning, but I woke up with a start when I realized our front door was open–eek! Our spotless kitchen was too lovely to make a mess of, so we decided to head out for brunch at the café down the street; my chipotle eggs benedict with avocado was delicious, but it was John's chorizo scramble that inspired our dinner plans–a big paella with my baby brother! We ran a few errands, including picking up a bottle of Rioja and a wriggly crustacean, and then headed home for a little physical activity. I got my butt handed to me by Mary Helen Bowers and John went on a run, then he ran out to grab a bottle of Madeira while I got started on dinner. John had the unhappy task of killing our active lobster while I shrieked and hid in the other room, and the three of us munched on hazelnuts and sipped sherry while dinner cooled. The long drive back to Palo Alto prompted an early goodnight from Charlie, and John and I curled up for an early bedtime.

John put the hour he was up before me to good use on Monday morning and surprised me with a feast–scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes, guacamole, roasted tomatillo salsa, cotija cheese and plenty of warm tortillas. We quickly got started on an all-day brewing project, and soon our comrade and partner in all things boozy joined us. During a lull, we took a stroll to the beach for lunch enjoyed alfresco and marveled at the gorgeous weather, but soon we were back in the kitchen with our concoction. I took advantage of an afternoon so utterly dedicated to one task to pull out some texts and work quietly on an essay; curled up in the armchair in the sunshine, it was the perfect blend of warm weather and bookish pursuits. A.J. bid us goodnight and after a quick expedition for mozzarella and fresh basil, we set to making a homemade pizza for dinner. We devoured the margarita and half a watermelon along with it as Hyde Park on Hudson played, and were tucked into bed ready to tackle the week ahead.

Tell me, how did you celebrate Labor Day and the unofficial end of summer–with barbeques by the pool, or slurping popsicles and finishing a beach read?


8 comments:

  1. So many good things -- your long weekend sounds just heavenly! And I have to try that drink... frozen peaches to cool? YUM!

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  2. Hahaha I totally hid in the bedroom AND put headphones on the last time my husband had to kill a lobster for dinner! Glad you had a fun weekend!

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  3. So the Bay Bridge...is that supposed to be finished soon? I talked to my friend the other day, she said it took her 3.5 hours to get from Stanford back to Novato. Ugh...what a mess. I'm heading up to the Bay Area at the end of this month and cannot wait!

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  4. Ha, I live across the country & I'm hearing SO much about the Bay Bridge being closed. I hope it's fixed quickly!!

    always, koru kate

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  5. back to back parks and rec on netflix! and hey, it's tuesday! :)

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  6. I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't like to dirty up a freshly cleaned kitchen!!

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  7. Online ordering is the best, isn't it? And that Monday breakfast sounds amazing!

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A Crimson Kiss – Timeless Events and Classic Cocktails by Ana Degenaar : Blogger